Francisella opportunistica sp. nov., isolated from human blood and cerebrospinal fluid. Issue 2 (20th December 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dietrich, Elizabeth A.; Kingry, Luke C.; Kugeler, Kiersten J.; Levy, Craig; Yaglom, Hayley; Young, John W.; Mead, Paul S.; Petersen, Jeannine M.
• Is Part Of: International journal of systematic and evolutionary microbiology. Volume 70:Issue 2(2020)
• Page Start: 1145
• Page End: 1151
• Publication Date: 2019-12-20
• Subjects: Francisella -- Francisella opportunistica sp. nov. -- opportunistic pathogen; Microbiology -- Periodicals; Microbiology -- Classification -- Periodicals; 579
• DOI: 10.1099/ijsem.0.003891
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1466-5026

Abstract

Abstract : Two isolates of a Gram-negative, non-spore-forming coccobacillus cultured from the blood and cerebrospinal fluid of immunocompromised patients in the United States were described previously. Biochemical and phylogenetic analyses revealed that they belong to a novel species within the Francisella genus. Here we describe a third isolate of this species, recovered from blood of a febrile patient with renal failure, and formally name the Francisella species. Whole genome comparisons indicated the three isolates display greater than 99.9 % average nucleotide identity (ANI) to each other and are most closely related to the tick endosymbiont F. persica, with only 88.6–88.8 % ANI to the type strain of F. persica . Based on biochemical, metabolic and genomic comparisons, we propose that these three isolates should be recognized as Francisella opportunistica sp. nov, with the type strain of the species, PA05-1188 T, available through the Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen (DSM 107100) and the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC BAA-2974).